The Life of Chuck hasn’t exactly set the world on fire since its release earlier this month. But while it might not be among 2025’s biggest films, it could be one of its best. Granted, this was never crafted to be a box-office blockbuster. It’s just too contemplative, too whimsical, too flat-out weird. The whole story is told backward, for one thing—beginning with Act III, which itself seems to culminate with the end of the world. And much of the... Read more
You can’t deny the power, artistry and sheer entertainment value of Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. The film manages to balance horror and humor as well as any. Michael B. Jordan—playing the gangster twins Smoke and Stack—is at his charismatic best. And the music? It swings from foot-pounding blues numbers to tender Irish ballads–transcending the window-dressing treatment music often get and deftly informing both what Sinners says and how it feels. And that’s the point. Sinners is about music: Not just its... Read more
Movies go in seasons. And those seasons, like winter in New Hampshire, tend to come early. The summer movie season usually begins the first week of May. The Christmas movie season might touch off right after Halloween. And right now—even though the calendar still says that it’s winter, faith-based films are beginning to bloom. That’s right: It’s Christian movie season. It’s part of a natural entertainment cycle, really. With big blockbusters in hibernation and with plenty of moviegoers looking for... Read more
We’ve seen sexy vampires, sparkly vampires, atheistic vampires who might take their morning showers in holy water without ill effect. It feels like it’s been a while since we’ve seen a real vampire vampire—a monster smelling of blood and brimstone, an unholy creature at home in, at least, the upper reaches of hell. Not a misunderstood antihero or an occult superhero, but something altogether evil. Enter Count Orlok, the refreshingly old-fashioned villain from the latest Nosferatu movie. And his dark... Read more
Yep, people still go to the movies. Some people wondered whether that was so earlier this year. After The Fall Guy fell, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga crashed and Argylle triggered ever-so-many confused looks, some wondered whether streaming and strikes and COVID really had changed the movie industry. But in the second half of the year, everything changed. And by the time the ball drops on New Year’s Eve, 2024 will have seen eight films make more than $200 million... Read more
Let’s not draw this out: The Acolyte failed. The first season of Star Wars’ latest series (now on Disney+) did not fail just because of its Force-powered witches. It did not fail just because a couple of those witches were, well, a couple. Those elements might’ve earned the show scorn from both Star Wars purists and conservative viewers (many of whom voiced their displeasure before the show even aired). But its biggest issue—simmering throughout the series—truly crashed the ship in... Read more
Inside Out 2 is great. While not quite peak Pixar (which hit its artistic zenith with WALL-E, Up and Toy Story 3 in the late 2000’s), it’s awfully close. Moreover, the movie is all about belief: Not belief in God, exactly, or what we believe happens when we die, but what we believe about ourselves. But don’t fool yourself into believing that Inside Out 2 isn’t spiritual. In its own way, it’s deeply so. As the Disney/Pixar film opens, we... Read more
The movie Sight came out a couple of weeks ago. It was released alongside the more heralded Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and The Garfield Movie. Directed by Andrew Hyatt and coming with a subtle-but-powerful foundation of faith, Sight, based on a true story, is a gently inspiring, smartly crafted film. And honestly, it has stuck with me longer than I expected—thanks to Flannery O’Conner. Sight’s narrative come in two parts: One focused on a young, bright aspiring doctor named... Read more
The summer blockbuster movie season is here, and Hollywood’s “biggest” films are making their way to theaters. But after you’ve gotten your fill of Fall Guys and power-hungry apes and, this weekend, imaginary friends, you might want to check out something on a smaller scale: The poignant, powerful We Grown Now. The film, directed by Minhal Baig and distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, focuses on two kids—Malik and Eric—growing up in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green housing project, circa 1992. Seen through their... Read more
When The First Omen crawled into theaters this month, it arguably scared up more press than people. Perhaps it could’ve learned a thing or two from its nearly 50-year-old forebear. Critics have been kind to The First Omen (giving it an 81% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes), and it earned a level of notoriety for a disturbing birthing sequence that nearly garnered it an NC-17 rating. But despite the praise and some fine performances (especially from Nell Tiger Free, who... Read more
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